Plastic response by a small cervid to supplemental feeding in winter across a wide environmental gradient

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F86652079%3A_____%2F17%3A00482946" target="_blank" >RIV/86652079:_____/17:00482946 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1629" target="_blank" >http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1629</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1629" target="_blank" >10.1002/ecs2.1629</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Plastic response by a small cervid to supplemental feeding in winter across a wide environmental gradient

Original language description

Supplemental feeding for ungulates is a widespread practice in many human-dominated landscapes across Europe and North America, mainly intended to seasonally support populations. Surprisingly, little consideration was given so far to the effect of supplemental feeding on ungulate spatial ecology at a large scale, in management and conservation studies. Analyses of the main ecological drivers influencing the use of supplemental feeding sites by ungulates across a gradient of abiotic and biotic factors are currently lacking. We conducted a large-scale assessment of ecological and management drivers of use of feeding station sites in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), a small cervid widely distributed across Europe that is particularly sensitive to winter severity. We tested four competing hypotheses by comparing the time spent at feeding station sites by 180 individual Global Positioning System-collared roe deer from nine populations spanning a wide latitudinal and altitudinal gradient. We found that roe deer used feeding station sites highly opportunistically in response to winter severity across its range. The harshest weather conditions at the northern range limit or the highest elevations provoked an intense use of feeding station sites, which typically peaked at the end of winter, in accordance with the adverse weather and nutritional condition hypotheses. Consistently, milder winters corresponded to a reduced and/or more homogeneous use of supplemental feeding. In general, intensively used feeding station sites heavily conditioned spatial behavior of roe deer. Importantly, biotic factors such as the presence of competitors decreased roe deer use of supplemental feeding station sites. Our results emphasize the importance of this human-induced alteration to resource distribution, especially in the context of the rapidly occurring climate change that is modifying resource availability for ungulate populations.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10511 - Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7)

Project

Result was created during the realization of more than one project. More information in the Projects tab.

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)<br>I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2017

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Ecosphere

ISSN

2150-8925

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

8

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

17

Pages from-to

—

UT code for WoS article

000396526300006

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85015295613